Public schools in Denver, Colorado, hit with breach; fingerprint scans grabbed

Employees’ fingerprint biometrics were stolen from the systems of Denver Public Schools. The theft occurred between December 13, 2022, and January 13, according to officials.

An “unauthorized actor,” officials have said, made off with a variety of personal information belonging to staff and students.

Beyond employee fingerprints, the school district says, data stolen included account numbers for social security personal banking and pay cards; driver’s license and passport numbers and health plan information. Student ID numbers were grabbed, as well.

Officials are mailing to those impacted packets with information about ID-theft protection services and an offer for free credit monitoring.

Breaches at schools have been one reason for avoiding the use of biometrics in general and biometric surveillance in particular on school grounds. The prospect of a child’s finger or face scan ending up in a criminal’s hands can be a persuasive argument to ban systems on campus.

Article Topics

biometric data  |  biometrics  |  Colorado  |  fingerprint biometrics  |  hacking  |  schools  |  USA